Yesterday, Texas Railroad Commissioners voted in favor of "sending a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in response to an EPA Draft Report released on Dec. 8, 2011 in which the EPA attempted to link groundwater contamination and hydraulic fracturing in Pavillion, Wyoming."
The Texas Railroad Commission posted a news release on the subject on their web page. For the full news release please click here.
In the letter the Texas Railroad Commissioners state, "it appears EPA came to th[e] conclusion[s] [in the EPA Draft Report] based on limited and questionable data;dismissed reports, including a report from the United States Geological Survey of historical problems with ground water quality in the Pavillion area prior to any hydraulic fracturing activity in the area; and an examination of hydraulic fracturing as the only potential source of the poor quality deeper ground water in the Pavillion area.
The EPA may have avoided such flaws had it subjected the Draft Report to external, independent, scientific peer review, including a review by the State of Wyoming's own environmental and oil and gas experts." For a full copy of the letter please click here.
With this, the Texas Railroad Commission is the latest to criticize the EPA's Draft Report on "Investigation of Ground Water Contamination near Pavillion, Wyoming." For a copy of the Draft Report please click here.
Previously, Thomas Doll, head of the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, testified before the House Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment and stated that the EPA based its findings on thin data that wasn’t properly vetted by state agencies, independent scientists, and other stakeholders before publication. For more on Mr. Doll's testimony earlier this month please click here.
